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Background

The Lebanese civil war that began in April 1975
was the backdrop against which the Syrian military presence in
Lebanon was established. Syria first tried to mediate between the
different religious, political and national factions involved. In
January 1976, its proposal to restore the limits to the Palestinian
guerrilla presence in Lebanon that had been in place prior to the
outbreak of the civil war, were welcomed by Maronites and conservative
Muslims, but rejected by the
Palestinian guerrillas and their
Lebanese Druze-led and leftist
allies. To deal with the opposition posed by this latter grouping
which was normally allied with Syria, in June 1967, Syria
dispatched Palestinian units under its control in Lebanon, and soon
sent its own troops as well. Syria claims these interventions came
in response to appeals from Christian villagers under attack by the
leftists.[1]

By October 1976, Syria had done significant damage to the
strength of the leftists and their Palestinian allies, but at a
meeting of the Arab
League, it was forced to accept a ceasefire. The League
ministers decided to expand an existing small Arab peacekeeping
force in Lebanon. It grew to be a large deterrent force consisting
almost entirely of Syrian troops. The Syrian military intervention
was thus legitimized and received subsidies from the Arab League
for its activities.[1]

Analyzing whether and when the Syrian presence was a military
occupation under international law, Gerhard von Glahn
writes that "The mandate of the Force was renewed several times
before it officially expired on July 27, 1982, at the time of the
Israeli siege of
Beirut. The Lebanese government refused to request that the
mandate be renewed by the Arab League. Instead, in September 1986,
Lebanon requested an end to the Syrian presence in Lebanon. It
would appear that, lacking legal authority from both Lebanon and
the Arab League, Syria's military forces had to be regarded
henceforth as illegal occupants of Lebanon."[2]

In the late 1980s, General Michel Aoun was appointed President of the
Council of Ministers by President Amine Gemayel, a controversial move since
Aoun was a Maronite Christian and the post was by unwritten
convention reserved for a Sunni Muslim. Muslim ministers refused to
serve in Aoun's government, which was not recognised by Syria. Two
rival administrations were formed: a military one under Aoun in
East Beirut and a civilian one
under Selim el-Hoss based in West Beirut; the
latter gained the support of the Syrians. Aoun opposed the Syrian
presence in Lebanon, citing the 1982 UN Security
Council Resolution 520.[3] The
Syrian military remained in Lebanon; after a successful campaign
against the Lebanese Forces militia who had
controlled Beirut port, Aoun, now with massive popular support in
his East Beirut enclave, declared a "War of Liberation" against the
Syrian forces. Fighting began on 14 March 1989. Casualties among
civilians on both sides from indiscriminate artillery bombardments
across the front line were numerous. Aoun initially received a
greater degree of international support than el-Hoss, but this
ended abruptly with the American build-up for war with Iraq over Kuwait. Aoun had
received considerable support from the Iraqi government, anxious to
weaken the rival Baathist regime in Damascus; in October 1990
Syrian forces took the presidential palace at Baabda by storm. Aoun
took refuge in the French embassy and was later exiled from Lebanon
to France. Circumstances surrounding his exile are controversial;
his apprehension and exile are variously attributed to Syrian
forces, Israeli Defense
Forces, Shiite militias, and the Lebanese Forces militia of Samir Geagea.

Syrian forces remained in Lebanon, exercising considerable
influence. In 1991, a Treaty of Brotherhood, Cooperation, and
Coordination, signed between Lebanon and Syria, legitimized the
Syrian military presence in Lebanon. It stipulated that Lebanon
would not be made a threat to Syria's security and that Syria was
responsible for protecting Lebanon from external threats. In
September that same year a Defense and Security Pact was enacted
between the two countries.[4]

After the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon and the death
of Hafez Al-Assad in 2000, the Syrian military
presence faced fierce criticism and resistance from the Lebanese
population. The military presence ended on 26 April 2005 after the
Cedar
Revolution that took place as a reaction to the assassination
of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on 14
February 2005.

In October 2008, both Syria and Lebanon decided to have
diplomatic relationships by establishing embassies for the first
time in history since both countries gained their national
independence during the 1940s. Two months later, the Syrian Embassy
was opened in Beirut. In March 2009, Lebanon followed and opened
its embassy in Damascus.